| Size | 27 × 41 stitches |
|---|---|
| Colours | 10 · DMC |
| Total stitches | 652 |
| Difficulty | Easy (2/5) |
| Finished on 14-count | 1.9 × 2.9 in (4.9 × 7.4 cm) |
| Finished on 16-count | 1.7 × 2.6 in (4.3 × 6.5 cm) |
| Finished on 18-count | 1.5 × 2.3 in (3.8 × 5.8 cm) |
| Licence | CC BY-NC 4.0 — free for personal use with credit |
Materials
| Colour | Code | Name | Stitches | Share | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 783 | Topaz Medium | 180 | 28% | 1 skein | |
| 444 | Lemon Dark | 144 | 22% | 1 skein | |
| 972 | Canary Deep | 64 | 10% | 1 skein | |
| 986 | Forest Green Vy Dk | 55 | 8% | 1 skein | |
| 3347 | Yellow Green Med | 43 | 7% | 1 skein | |
| 445 | Lemon Light | 40 | 6% | 1 skein | |
| 3371 | Black Brown | 36 | 6% | 1 skein | |
| 898 | Coffee Brown Vy Dk | 33 | 5% | 1 skein | |
| 3346 | Hunter Green | 29 | 4% | 1 skein | |
| 801 | Coffee Brown Dk | 28 | 4% | 1 skein |
About this design
The flower head has two rings of petals: eight bright lemon petals (444) in front and eight deeper canary petals (972) peeking out between them, all outlined in topaz (783). Each front petal has a pale 445 streak down the middle. The seed head is a dark coffee brown disc ringed in near-black, with a few lighter 801 stitches inside to suggest the seeds. Below it, a two-tone green stem carries one leaf on each side, set at different heights so the plant feels natural rather than stiff.
How to work it
The head is symmetrical, so find the centre of the disc and work out from there. Stitch the disc first: the 3371 ring, then the brown fill, then the scattered seed highlights. Next, work the topaz petal outlines one petal at a time and fill each as you go, front petals in 444 and back petals in 972. Counting is easiest if you stitch the four straight petals (top, bottom, left and right) before the diagonal ones. Finish with the stem and leaves, which are quick, mostly solid blocks.
Finishing ideas
At 27 × 41 stitches the sunflower is about 1.9 × 2.9 inches on 14-count and 1.5 × 2.3 inches on 18-count. Its tall shape suits a 3 × 5 inch frame or a card. On 11-count it grows to about 2.5 × 3.7 inches, a good size for a tote bag patch.
Colour plan
DMC 783 Topaz Medium does the most work, 28% of the 652 stitches, followed by DMC 444 Lemon Dark at 22%. Every colour is used at least 28 times, so there are no tiny one-off details to hunt for. 41% of the grid is left empty.
Working notes
67 squares stand alone in their colour, with no same-coloured neighbour along a side; stitch those as you pass rather than starting a new thread for each. The busiest row changes colour 18 times.
Anchor equivalents
The nearest Anchor colour for each DMC colour in this pattern, measured as ΔE 2000: up to 3 is very close, up to 6 close, up to 10 approximate.
This is an original CraftPatterns design, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0: stitch it, share it and gift what you make — please credit craftpatterns.app and don't sell the pattern itself. Want to change it? Open it in the cross stitch editor.
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